I am the mother of two beautiful, healthy children with very different birth stories. During my first pregnancy, I was the “good” patient. I went to see my conventional Obstetrician at the specified times; I attended the hospital lead birthing preparation class; and, I took my prenatal vitamins. I planned on having a natural birth at the local hospital. However, the birth of my oldest son did not go as planned. (I am very aware that we cannot “plan” how birth will happen, but, we as women can have expectations for how we would like to have things occur and how we would like to be treated.) The birthing process took 35 hours. During those hours, the on-call doctor failed to hear my concerns about my stalling birth and did not attend to me personally.
I felt powerless, unsupported, and exhausted. After 24 hours of labor, I agreed to an epidural, which lead an avalanche of other interventions. There I was lying flat on my back giving birth to my son. Thankfully, he was born vaginally and healthy. Following the initial bliss of being a new mother and being thankful that he was born healthy, my anger and resentment grew. It was an awakening.
When I became pregnant the second time, I was afraid. I didn’t want another medically managed birth, but I didn’t know how to avoid it. I read every book I could on natural birth and grew strong through reading the natural birth stories of other women. I changed doctor’s offices, twice. After a prenatal yoga class, I came across a flyer for a play called “BIRTH” that discussed the different birth stories of women in our country and supported woman-centered birth practices. I was intrigued. The play was fantastically powerful. I left there knowing that I was going to have a homebirth. I hired a homebirth midwife and my daughter was born in my bedroom. I experienced truly woman/mother-centered care. My prenatal care involved building a trusting partnership with my midwife through talking about nutrition, exercise, emotional health, and any thing else I needed to discuss. The birth was self-directed and peaceful. I felt completely supported and loved. The experience was fabulous.
As women we deserve to be treated with respect throughout our pregnancies and birth. We should be able to birth as we please and be educated on the risks that could occur in all environments. Birth is a natural, beautiful process that should not be corrupted by unnecessary medical practices. It the voice of women that will encourage a change to occur in the medical world, “BIRTH” magnifies that voice. Please support “Birth” in doing so by attending one of the local plays and events. We owe it to our daughters.
By Nichole Jones
Member, Longmont Moms Go Green (Longmont MAU Chapter)
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